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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25821505">A VOID Dance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuitePossiblyInsane/pseuds/QuitePossiblyInsane'>QuitePossiblyInsane</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A self indulgent fic, F/M, Homelessness, MC is not Chara, MC is not Frisk, MC is not having a great time, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, The VOID Sings, redacted is gaster lol, with some personal experience thrown in for character, you can't save everyone by yourself</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 01:58:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,634</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25821505</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuitePossiblyInsane/pseuds/QuitePossiblyInsane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The surface was everything the monsters had dreamt of. Fresh air, changing weather, new people and places, a chance to grow and explore. Of course there were struggles. Of course no one expected it to be perfect. But each was overcome handily by the determined young ambassador and their friends.</p><p>Micah was used to having it rough. She had been homeless, living in a shelter for almost a year before the monsters came to the surface, so it hadn't meant much when they started showing up in the neighbourhoods she frequented. They, like many others, had become rather mundane in a relatively short period of time.</p><p>What was not mundane was the strange, grey door which began appearing to her in vivid dreams, and the feeling like she was constantly forgetting something very, very interesting.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>W. D. Gaster/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The First Question</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Greeting and Salutations. I should be writing one of my other fics, but instead, I'm here. What can I say? I go where the inspiration takes me. Don't worry, the other three aren't going anywhere, and will receive updates when they're ready.</p><p>In the meantime, please enjoy this new story. [REDACTED] is excited to meet you all.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Sometimes I forget who I am. Never for long. But enough that I question things that ought not be questioned.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>See, questions...well those are dangerous, 'cause you might get <strong>answers.</strong></em>
</p><p>
  <em>And answers? Those are either terrifying, or very, very interesting.<br/>
</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What is the grey door?</em>
</p><p>What<em> will happen if I open it?</em></p><p>
  <em>If I open it, will I forget who I am?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If I forget who I am, am I still me?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If I'm not me, will I be forgotten?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If everyone forgets me, will I ever be remembered?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If I am never remembered, should I give up?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If I give up, will they be okay?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If they're not okay, can I carry on?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If I can't carry on, who will carry me?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The questions fade like a sunset in a dark sky town, and I am left in front of the door. This dream, like so many before it. The stone is dim and cold. The door is out of place. The ceiling is littered with softly luminescent gems, and the. door. is. out. of. place. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I reach for the handle. It crumbles in my hand, as the dream itself shatters around me, and all at once--</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>Cold reality slammed into Micah as she bolted upright out of her bed. The staff were walking from bedspace to bedspace, shouting out the hour to everyone still sleeping. Her heart was racing, her palms moist with sweat, and the strange vision still burned into her mind.</p><p>"Six A.M. Wake up! You've got fifteen minutes to be out of the pods!"</p><p>She had been <em>so </em>close this time.</p><p>People were frantically making their beds, and changing into their daytime clothes as the staff continued to weave from bed to bed.</p><p>Her face buried in one hand, long, fiery red hair forming a curtain to conceal her from the blaring flourescent lights they kept on all night, as she reached blindly with her other hand for her phone to see if they were fudging the times to get them out quicker again.</p><p>Already, the finer details of the dream were fading away, and the thoughts of what she would have to do today spider-webbed through her mind in every which direction, forming tenuous connections as they went, and ending on subjects that no one else would spot the connections to without the boring process of explaining the branching train of thought that ran through her head at indeterminate speeds, to no one's benefit, including her own.</p><p>Best just put the door out of her mind, for now.</p><p>"Mikey, you up?" The staff member was yelling, even though she was leaning over, and shouting right into her bunk.</p><p>"Yeah. Mnn...um...bad dream, I guess. I'm doing it, though," she stood, joints and muscles aching from the night on the uncomfortable prison-hand-me-down mattresses that they weren't allowed to add any padding to.</p><p>The staff member was already moving on to individually harass the other residents of the shelter.</p><p>Micah grimaced with a painful stretch, popping audibly, before going about the well practised morning routine expected of all residents, daily.</p><p>First, make the bed, no messy corners, though they wouldn't go untucking things themselves, so it was safe to tuck clothes and the like that she couldn't get put away in time. Second, get some clean clothing to change into. Do it quickly while the staff and other residents aren't looking. Third, all belongings off the floor, neatly packed in two trash bags, even if she owned luggage, or some will be thrown out while she's locked out of the pod. Last, make sure the lady in the wheelchair two beds over is doing okay, because of course staff weren't here to <em>coddle </em>anyone. Her bedsores have gotten worse, and she might be due for another hospital stay, but Micah would make sure her things didn't get stolen, and stayed in compliance while she was away.</p><p>And then there was only a minute or so left. She walked quickly for the door to avoid a write-up, not running, because she wanted to avoid a write-up for that. The people in the couples' pod were streaming out. People were arguing. People were lined up to get their allotted two sugar packets for coffee. Micah decided to drink hers black.</p><p>A loaf of stale, rye bread, and a jar of peanutbutter with a plastic spork sticking out of it sat on the counter for breakfast. A few people had used their food stamps to buy something they could eat right away. They weren't allowed to store food for themselves, and the kitchen was rarely stocked.</p><p>The community room was already packed and bustling. One corner were rolling cigarettes, and making cardboard signs. A few people gathered near the front to watch the news. More than a few were sleeping, head down, on the plastic tables. The three computers the place had were booked solid for the next few days, mostly people using their 20-minute spans to fill out job applications, or search for people looking for roommates.</p><p>She found a place to sit, weak black coffee clutched in both hands as the news buzzed on in the background.</p><p>And the morning wore on the way it generally did.</p>
<hr/><p>It was mid-afternoon by the time Micah managed to scrounge up enough money from the other residents of the shelter to catch the bus to an area she hadn't applied yet. Online applications were well and good, but it wasn't going to do her any good if she couldn't get to a computer, and from what everyone was saying, the monster-run businesses in New Town were pretty much the only ones who took paper applications anymore. Some of her fellow residents might have a problem with applying here, but she sure as shit didn't.</p><p>The architecture of the place was a little outdated, but overall rather charming in its way. Light catchers seemed to be a popular decorating item, sending rainbow cascades of colour sparkling in the summer sunshine. Businesses lined the New Town main street, and both monsters and even some humans seemed to be enjoying the warm day.</p><p>All in all, she had a good feeling about today. She had no choice but to have a good feeling. There was no room for depression in her bunk, and no one else was going to help her and the other people who got forgotten in the cracks of progress.</p><p>So...yes. Good day. Starting...now.</p><p>She marched up to the first business she saw, straightening three days worn clothes and silently hoping for this to work out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>All descriptions of the homeless shelter are based on my own experiences when I was homeless a couple of years ago. They aren't exaggerated, and tbh it really sucked and was lowkey a little traumatic. But I'm in a stable environment where I can work that out now, so it's all gucci.</p><p>Thanks for reading. I love you.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The First Question-1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was easy for Micah to get into a sort of groove, as she went from shop to shop, filling out applications and handing them in as she went. A bakery and tea shop run by a spider monster, a general goods store run by a sweet rabbit monster, a hotel run by her sister, a "nice" cream parlour, a fancy looking restaurant or two, a bar and grill run by a fire monster, and several other businesses.</p><p>Unlike much of the more human-populated areas of town, not a bit of property was wasted. None of the buildings were left empty and vacant, though many of the businesses took up two or three times the absolute necessary space, sprawling both out and up where possible. Doorways were bigger and more accessible, there were large picture windows on apartment levels that didn't match the older look of the construction, and people, human and monster alike, of every size, shape, ability and colour seemed to have no trouble navigating the place.</p><p>It was nice, really. Made her wonder what some of the others at the shelter had against the monsters. Made her wonder why she'd <em>never</em> seen a monster checked into that place.</p><p>Her mind continued to wander, as she scrounged up some change to buy herself a snack, and made her way to the bigger, more industrial looking buildings further into town, eating as she went.</p><p>There was doubt clouding the edges of her mind, as the ache began to settle in her feet. The last few jobs she'd had, had let her go after a week or two, whether due to scheduling issues, or the fact that she was just always too tired, too scatterbrained, too hungry or too depressed to do the repetitive, often painful tasks required of the hard, dumb labour that was available to her. She was starting to doubt she could hold onto a job at all.</p><p>So the idea that one of these places could be the chance she needed didn't really sit with her, as much as she wanted it to. She was probably going to be stuck in that place forever.</p><p>"Goddamn it," she stopped in her tracks, appetite lost to a queasy sense of nerves, "I need to stop this. It's gonna work out. I didn't leave mom's just to break down now."</p><p>It would be fine. It had to be fine. People didn't have happy endings, but goddamn it if she didn't want to have a decent one.</p><p>She forced herself to take another bite of the sticky-sweet cinnamon bunny, chewing slowly and purposefully as she finished it off. She could feel the mild tremble in her limbs calming as she swallowed, the monster food dissolving before it hit her stomach, but somehow satisfying her anyway.</p><p>The buildings in this area of town were larger, and bulkier, with fewer windows. They stood like imposing monoliths, under the shadow of the looming mountain just outside the city limits. Micah picked one at random, stepping inside of an air conditioned lobby. She approached the desk.</p><p>Before she could speak, the monster behind the desk spoke up first, "Oh thank the stars. We didn't think we'd be getting any humans for the SOUL study so quickly! Can I get your name and address, please?"</p><p>She opened her mouth to speak, stood silent for a moment, closed it again with a quiet snap of her teeth. It took a few repeats of this ritual to manage to say anything, "I...sorry, um...I think you might have the wrong person? I was just here to see if you had any jobs available?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.</p><p>The almost featureless monster behind the desk hummed quietly, "No, no. I mean yes. This is the only job we have, right now. The position is open to any human, sweetie," they affirmed, "I just need your name and address. Dr. Alphys will give you the details in the next room."</p><p>She hesitated, "It's paid?"</p><p>"Yep! Fifteen an hour, plus a bonus per session!"</p><p>If she had been carrying anything, she'd have dropped it, "Oh! Um. Okay. My name is uh. Micah Cavanaugh. M-I-C-A-H, last name C-A-V-A-N-A-U-G-H. And uh. I don't. Have an address."</p><p>The slime-like monster wiggled slightly, "Oh dear. Hm. Mailing address at least?"</p><p>"Not currently," there was a place she could receive mail, but she wasn't about to trust a paycheque to it. All they needed was her name and bed number to get it, and it was a lengthy trip to downtown Ebott to boot.</p><p>The slime squelched worriedly. Micah wondered how they were writing down any of this information.</p><p>After a moment of squishy quiet, they seemed to settle on a decision, "Okay. If you would be willing, then, we can see about having you pick up your cheques here!" They seemed quite happy with the solution.</p><p>She nodded, "That sounds brilliant, yeah," she quickly agreed.</p><p>"Excellent. If you can take one of the forms on the desk, and continue to the next room, the Doctor will be with you shortly."</p><p>"Cheers," she nodded, heading toward the only set of doors not leading outside, form in hand.</p><p>This hadn't been expected, but it was certainly welcome. What was the worst that could come of a SOUL study? They'd look at her with some machines, ask her some questions, and she'd make an easy cheque. No problem.</p><p>She sat down in one of the chairs provided, taking out her pen to fill out the form. Seemed like a basic medical history type thing, though a few of the questions were slightly more...existential than she was expecting, given the overall tone of the papers.</p><p>
  <em>What do you value most in life?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What views do you find most incompatible with your own?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What is your personal definition of morality?</em>
</p><p>There were more, of course, littered throughout the more normal questions. She did her best to answer, writing with quick scritches of her pen in the mostly quiet room.</p><p>The lighting was softer than the angry fluorescent buzz of most human-run businesses. It was certainly clinical, but in a more organic sort of way that she wouldn't have been able to rightly describe if hard-pressed.</p><p>Twenty minutes or so in, form pretty much done, another human walked in. She didn't pay them much attention, as they sat down in one of the other chairs. They didn't seem to have any papers to fill, though. She wondered if they'd done this before. There was a bonus per session. This could be a long-term option, to at least <em>supplement </em>her funds. And it wasn't really any sort of tragedy to make the trip to New Town every so often. The place was rather nice.</p><p>"I haven't seen you here before," the other human spoke up from where they sat across the walkway, "You're here for the SOUL study?"</p><p>Micah startled slightly, glancing up from her already finished papers, "Oh. Um, yes. I actually didn't know about it before I walked in, but. Y'know. Good luck and all that," she offered the younger human a small smile.</p><p>"Oh! Well that is pretty good luck all around. Alphys has been really excited to get this underway, but there haven't been a lot of volunteers for some reason. I've been doing my best to help, but I mean. Well. You know how humans are," they shrugged, brown hair falling into their eyes as they bounced a leg, "You're gonna love working with her."</p><p>Her smile became a little more genuine, "Yeah? I hope so. I've never met a monster who was a doctor before."</p><p>"Oh, yeah. She's been a doctor since they were all still underground. She was the royal scientist before all this."</p><p>"Wow. That's uh. Not intimidating at all."</p><p>They chuckled, "Don't worry, she's <em>really</em> not intimidating. Honestly, she's probably gonna be more nervous than you. But she knows what she's doing, even if she doubts herself a little."</p><p>"You seem to know her pretty well. Have you been doing this awhile? What should I expect?"</p><p>A surprised look crossed their features, "Oh, there's nothing unusual, but," they slowly grinned, before breaking into laughter.</p><p>"Did I...miss something?"</p><p>"Hehe you...pfffhaha! You really don't know!"</p><p>Her brows rose, attempting to join her hairline, "I don't follow."</p><p>They finally calmed down, hiding their grin behind a hand, "It's nothing, really."</p><p>"F-Frisk are you t-t-teasing the new p-participant already?" The voice from the inner doorway was as firm as it could be through the obvious stutter. The monster who spoke was average in height, lizard like, and golden yellow. Glasses sat, perched on her...snout? Nose? In front of her eyes. Apart from a labcoat, she was dressed casually, heavy tail dragging behind her as she came into the room to greet Micah.</p><p>"Sorry, Alphys. I was just surprised she didn't recognise me, s'all," they were still grinning.</p><p>Micah frowned in confusion. Wait. Frisk? Like...the ambassador of the monsters, Frisk?</p><p>"Holy shit."</p><p>The younger human burst out laughing again. Even the doctor gave a soft giggle.</p><p>"Y-you must be Micah C-Cav-Cavanaugh," she offered a clawed hand as Micah stood, "I-it's nice to meet you. I'm D-Dr. Alphys."</p><p>The older human quickly tucked the clipboard under her arm, shaking the monster's hand, "Oh, it's nice to meet you too, Doctor. Thank you for the opportunity, I--"</p><p>"Oh. Um..." Alphys' eyes were a little wide, and she was blushing slightly, "A-actually, I j-just needed the f-forms."</p><p>"OH. Christ, sorry. I wasn't uh. I wasn't thinking, sorry," embarrassment rolled off of her in waves. She quickly handed over the forms, averting her eyes.</p><p>"D-don't worry about it. I should've s-said something. C-come on to the back. We'll d-do a quick examin-n-nation." She turned to leave the room, gesturing for Micah to follow, "Frisk, you go on t-to the main lab. I'll be there s-soon."</p><p>The younger human was already on their feet, pushing through the doors ahead of them, and continuing on down the hall.</p><p>Micah watched them go, following Alphys to a small, plain exam room.</p><p>"O-okay, go ahead an s-sit down, and we'll um. We'll get started."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The First Question-2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Micah followed Alphys into the medical exam room, setting her bag on a nearby chair and standing awkwardly as she waited for further instruction, while the doctor went over the paperwork she'd filled out.</p><p>"I-it says you don't have a current address?"</p><p>"No. I'm currently staying in a shelter in North Ebott."</p><p>The monster's brows knit together. She typed some information into a computer sitting nearby, transferring it from the paperwork into digital storage, "If you d-don't mind my asking, is this a long t-term issue, or more recent?"</p><p>She shrugged, "I've been homeless for nearly a year," she replied, "I was lucky to get into the shelter after a few days in a hotel."</p><p>"I-I see. Is this going to st-stop you from being able to participate in the study l-long term?"</p><p>"It shouldn't, I don't think. How long is this study meant to go on?"</p><p>"It d-depends how many p-participants we get to sign up," Alphys adjusted her glasses, setting aside the paperwork, "S-so far we have you, Frisk and one other person. C-currently it's looking to be about...a y-year or so? D-depending on the results of the study."</p><p>"Oh. Wow. Okay. So what's the goal of the study?" She asked it because it seemed like a good question, but the idea of having a source of income for that long had her attention more than anything else.</p><p>"Oh! The main goal is to figure out the similarities and differences between human and monster SOULs," her words began to run together, "And in doing so, we're hoping to confirm some theories, and possibly break into some of the bigger scientific publications so that we can work with larger sample sizes and make some magi-medical breakthroughs that could help both humans and monsters! We're also looking into the origins of mages and the loss of magic in humans over time and..."</p><p>After a certain point, Micah stopped listening, not through any lack of interest, and more from an inability to focus on the rapidfire, almost overly-passionate answers. She would...get the idea sooner or later. Probably.</p><p>A few minutes in, Alphys finally seemed to finish what she was saying, and they went on with the basic medical questions and familiar methods of examination that she'd been through a hundred times before. She was determined to be healthy enough to continue, and finally, she was instructed to take a seat on the exam table.</p><p>"O-okay, this might feel a little, um...s-strange. I just need to take some notes on the condition of your S-SOUL."</p><p>Micah nodded, adjusting a little on the paper covered surface, and holding onto the edge of the bed. She felt a tugging at the centre of her chest. Her vision went dark in the strangest way. Details seemed washed out around her.</p><p>Between her and the Doctor, floated a brilliantly purple SOUL in the shape of a drawn heart.</p><p>Her breath was a little short, her head spinning slightly.</p><p>The monster gave her time to adjust, before clearing her throat softly, "Ahem. Um, if you don't mind, can you t-try moving it around for me?"</p><p>"How?"</p><p>"Th-think of it like another limb. A-an extension of yourself. S-so when you think of how you m-move your arm, it's like that."</p><p>"Right," she pressed her lips together, softening her focus a little, and thinking about touching her nearby bag on the chair. Without any effort, her SOUL sailed to the left, hitting the edge of a white box blocking the way, that she hadn't noticed before.</p><p>"G-great! T-try going the other way now."</p><p>And on it went, Micah putting her soul through various exercises, before Alphys returned it safely to her, scribbling notes down the entire time.</p><p>Colour returned to her vision, the room almost too bright after the strange darkness that had enveloped her while her SOUL was out. She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand.</p><p>"O-oh, um. Yeah that takes sssome g-getting used to," the monster offered a sympathetic look, "I'll give you a b-b-bit to adjust before we m-move on."</p><p>Micah shook her head, "No, no. I'm fine. Let's keep going. What's next?" She wasn't about to chance losing this opportunity just because she was a little weak. She would be fine.</p><p>Alphys barely contained a frown, but didn't press the issue, "We'll be moving on t-to the next room. I'm g-going to do some scans on yours and Frisk's souls s-side by side. W-we're looking for your in-inherent magical capab-b-bilities, so we kn-know how best to progress to the n-next step. I-it's completely n-non invasive I-I assure you."</p><p>She nodded lightly, getting up off the bed and going to grab her things.</p><p>"Oh y-your stuff will be f-fine here," the doctor said quickly, "I-it's b-best to have as l-little in the sc-scanner room as p-possible."</p><p>Micah hesitated. Being in the shelter made it difficult to part with the few things she had. Theft was common, and almost expected. Every instinct honed over the last year said that leaving it was as good as losing it, but...it was fine here. She was fine here. She could trust this place. If they wanted to do anything weird, they had every opportunity to do so, theft aside. That was the least of her worries. She left her things on the chair.</p><p>"Right. Sorry, force of habit. I uh. Don't normally let it out of my sight."</p><p>The monster adjusted her glasses, expression briefly unreadable, "O-of course. Anyway, I'll n-need you to remove anything made of g-gold or silver before we move on, and um. If you could ch-change into a set of scrubs for the sc-scan, we have a few d-different sizes right here," she opened a cabinet, and gestured to a pile of brightly coloured and patterned medical scrubs, clearly intended to fit a variety of body types, "I-I'll be just outside this door when you're d-done." She stepped out of the room, pulling her tail clear before shutting the door behind her.</p><p>Micah glanced down at herself, sighing before setting about complying with the request. She removed her shoes, shirt, jeans and bra, opting to keep her underwear and socks, since there was nothing in them that wasn't already in the scrubs. She found a set in her size, patterned with little cartoon hearts in grey on a dusty purple background. Once they were on, she certainly wasn't a fan of how much they accentuated the parts of her she disliked the most, but they were at least comfortable. She stepped out of the room, to where Dr. Alphys was having a conversation with Frisk, who wore their own set of scrubs in dark blue, with little yellow stars on them.</p><p>The hall here was just as clean and nice to look at as anything else in the building had been, though it felt just a little more industrial than the medical exam room. High above, pipes and ductwork went across the ceiling, weaving around the bright lights that reflected off of high-polished stone tiles. It smelled like cleaning products, and something else she couldn't identify.</p><p>"--bit w-worried about her being--" Alphys cut herself off mid-sentence, before Micah could pick up enough to put together a coherent thought, "Oh! M-Ms. Cavanaugh, good! If you'll follow me, we can move on to the n-next step."</p><p>She covered a frown with a forced, professional smile, "Of course. Lead the way."</p><p>They went through the halls, passing by a few lab assistants, all monsters, and several rooms doing various different activities that she couldn't put a finger on.</p><p>Frisk walked along just behind, hands folded behind their head as they slid their socked feet on the smooth surface of the tile floor.</p><p>The room they came to when they stopped was larger than most of the others, but it felt outright claustrophobic by comparison. Every inch of available space was taken up by equipment that Micah couldn't even begin to identify, and plenty that she could. Monitors and screens showed incomprehensible readouts. Soft clicks, whirs and beeps came from deep in the room. A large glass wall took up one side of the room, showing into a smaller, emptier space on the other side. Yet more equipment extended up a floor or two into the ceiling. Even while it wasn't running at full capacity, it was loud, and heavy, and massive.</p><p>She took a slow breath, a little intimidated, as Alphys opened a door the human hadn't noticed before, that led through a compact corridor, then through another, sealed door into the room on the other side of the glass. Another was halfway down the corridor, heading into a different room.</p><p>"I-if you two would head through here and settle in the chairs, we can get s-started on this n-next bit. You're allowed t-to move around the room if it's um. If it's uncomfortable. Y-you just can't leave for a couple hours. Th-there's a bathroom c-connected to the s-scanner room if you need it, through the hall here, but it's uh. Y-you'll have to let me know before g-going, s-so I can account for any ch-changes in the scans. And um." Her lips pressed together as if she were going over some sort of internal checklist, "Yeah! That's it. G-get comfy, and uh. If you feel anything weird lemme know."</p><p>Frisk gave a cheerful thumbs up, heading through the hall without a word. Micah hesitated only slightly, before following suit. The door closed behind them, a soft sound of some sort of decontamination kicking in, before the next door opened on its own to let them inside the main testing room. The younger human immediately plopped into the chair closer to the door, leaving the other for Micah.</p><p>"So. How likely is this to feel weird?" She finally asked Frisk, who seemed to be reading something, though nothing was there.</p><p>They looked up, "It's not bad. I'm not sure how it all works, but it feels sorta...I dunno. Dream-like, I guess? At least for me. I don't know if there are other reactions yet. You're the first human whose made it to that seat. Only other who got this far took one look at all the equipment and said he'd rather not, and the other one who walked in quit after the exam room," they paused, "Um. Thanks for sticking with it, so far. Alphys has been really excited about this project. It was her job to study human SOULs back underground, but then it was all related to the barrier, and getting out, so...this is the first big thing she's put this much energy into in awhile."</p><p>She wasn't sure how to respond. She was doing her best to think of it as just a job, but the kid was so sincere, it had her taken aback, "Oh. I mean, it's good pay and uh. You know. It's good to help further the sciences. Or...I guess magi-science? From what I've heard, it's really hard for monsters to break into the STEM fields since they've made it to the surface. Something about not recognising apprenticeships anymore or something. So this is...I dunno, pretty cool to see, I guess."</p><p>They grinned. The machines began to power up outside and around the room. The glare of lights on the glass made it hard to see what the doctor was doing on the other side.<br/><br/>"I'm glad you think so. You seem a lot more open than some of the others who came in here."</p><p>She shrugged, attempting to relax as a low-pitched hum filled the room, "Hey, far as I see it, there's no point in being rude to people I don't know. And if those people happen to be shaped a little different, what difference does it make?"</p><p>Their smile softened, "I'm glad to hear that," they replied, lightly kicking their feet against the smooth floor.</p><p>A comfortable silence filled the gap in conversation, punctuated by a strange, warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, as the low-pitched sound slowly began to fill her head. She almost found herself sinking into a trance, before it was interrupted some indeterminable amount of time later, by the younger human.</p><p>"Are you okay, living where you do?" Their voice was soft. For that moment, they sounded almost...younger than they should.</p><p>Micah snapped free of her softened state, suddenly tense all over. Through the glass, a machine beeped shrilly and audibly, "I...did Dr. Alphys tell you that? That's kind of a breach of privac--"</p><p>"She was worried," Frisk interrupted, tapping their fingertips together in her lap, "But since I'm the only human she really knows, so far, she thought I might have some advice for her."</p><p>Her brows knitted together, "I suppose I can understand that, but that isn't something a kid should have to worry about," she replied, "Besides, she barely knows me at all, and, it isn't as if I'm the only homeless person in Ebott County."</p><p>They shook their head, "Well no, but...that's not really something monsters have to deal with. They're...really weird. They don't <em>have </em>to know you very well before they start to care. It's just...part of their culture. So if another monster is going through something like that, they get help without a second thought. They don't really know how to deal with someone just...not asking for help. So I guess I'm saying...if you need help, just ask. Almost any monster you meet would be more than happy to do what they can to make things easier."</p><p>Micah wasn't entirely sure how to respond. She sat back in the chair, slouched down slightly as the beeping from outside the room faded into the background din of machinery, "I see. I'll be honest, I haven't met a lot of monsters. They don't tend to come over to the main city much."</p><p>They closed their eyes, "It's all a lot of culture shock to them. We're working toward integration as quickly as we can, but it's going to be a long process," their breathing began to even out again, "I think you should talk to Alphys after this. She wants to help you."</p><p>"I'll think about it."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The First Answer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The room was quiet, apart from the buzzing and rumbling and droning of machinery. The sounds faded easily into the background, as the magic worked, taking its readings and helping Micah to relax into the seat.</p><p>Colours seemed to fade as they had when their SOUL was out. They were brilliant purple. Nearby, but quickly fading from view, was the brilliant red of Frisk's determination.</p><p>Then the darkness deepened. Sound became strange. A pale grey outline of a door seemed to form where the glass observation wall should have been.</p><p>Micah stood, almost without thinking. The ground was indistinguishable from the walls were indistinguishable from the ceiling was indistinguishable from the chair was indistinguishable from the air was indistinguishable from the reflection was indistinguishable from the VOID. Reality meant nothing. Not even the colours of closed eyes and burned retinas danced in her vision. The only colour seemed to come from her very soul, visible through the ink black translucence of her physical form, and that grey door that seemed to flicker and dance without moving even a little.</p><p>The apprehension and anxiety that made her hesitate in her dreams was absent here. Calm engulfed her, leaving a residue of far too attached curiosity. She had to know. She had to see, had to know, had to find out what lay beyond.</p><p>She couldn't see her own hands as she reached toward the door, gripping a handle that felt like both the only solid thing, and like nothing at all. She couldn't be certain that it turned, until the door slowly swung open, as if moving through dense and obstructing fluid.</p><p>But before it could fully open, a hand grasped over hers, skeletal with a hole in the palm, clearly outlined, and yet somehow difficult to see, as if her eyes didn't wish to see what was clearly there.</p><p>The door shut with as much resistance.</p><p>She turned to face the figure. She could feel the soft curiosity cross her face, unsure the other could even see her, or if her own reality was as fragile as that of the stranger <span class="u"><strong>stood.</strong></span>..<strike>sat.</strike><em>..<strike><span class="u"><strong>ṅ̵̖̼̰͜ơ̷̩̞̤t̵̰̟̰͒</strong></span></strike>present </em>before her.</p><p>"W̸h̴o̷ a̴r̶e̶ y̴o̸u̵?̸ ̷Wh̸at̷ ̶is̵ ̸t̷he̷ ̸g̸rey d̷o̵or?̴" The distortion of her own voice, both too loud, and soundless startled her.</p><p>The figure seemed startled to have been noticed. <strike>Hesitant </strike>contemplative, before finally speaking, voice staticky and impossible to understand, "<strong>✋︎❄̷︎̷ ̶ ✋︎💧︎  ̶☠̷︎̶⚐̷︎̷❄̶︎̶ ̷ 💧︎✌︎☞︎☜︎📬︎</strong>"</p><p>She shook her head, "I̷ d̵o̴n̴'̸t.̵.̶.Ị̸̄ do̴n't̷̎ ̵k̷n̶̂o̴w̷̦͘ w̵̃ha̶t̶ ̴ẙ̶̫o̴̼̍ǘ̷̝'̴̬͝r̵̿ͅe̸̳͠ ̵̭͑tr̵y̶i̴n̵g̶̲͑ t̴o s̶̙̈́ay..̷.̸̤̈́ I̸'m̵ s̷or̴ry, I̴ ca̸n̶'t̶ u̵n̷de̷r̵st̶an̶d y̸̺͓̓ͅo̶̜̰͉͛̑̕û̶̮͈͒..."</p><p><strike>He</strike> looked <strike><em><strong>tired</strong></em></strike><strike><strong><span class="u">resigned</span></strong></strike><span class="u">upset,</span> shook <strike>his</strike> head, "<strong>✋︎❄̴̴̴︎̶̵̵🕯︎💧︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜̷︎̶ ̸❄̸︎̵⚐̶︎̴ ̶ 🕈︎✌̴︎̶😐︎☜︎ 🕆︎🏱︎ ̴☠̶︎̴⚐̵︎̴🕈︎📬︎</strong>"</p><p>And with those indecipherable words, the darkness began to fade.</p><hr/><p><em>"M-Ms. C-C-Cavanaugh? Ms. C-Cavanaugh c-can </em>you hear me?<em> M-Micah?"</em></p><p>She was fading in and out, a dizzy dance of nothing and everything playing at the edges of eachother, her mind an unwilling no-man's-land in the harsh and bitter battle between conscious and unconscious.</p><p>
  <em>"....check her HP?"</em>
</p><p><em>"I-it seems f-fine, th-there was nothing on the m-m-machines, and then she was gone and now its so low, Idon'tknowwhatwentwrong,</em> wh-what if she's hurt? Like ph-physically?<em> I can't let this happen again! And to a h</em>uman? Th-they'll hold it against all of monster kind, I'll--"</p><p>"<em>Alphys, calm down, it's okay."</em></p><p><em>"R-right, I just...n-need to c-contact her emergency contacts and...um....</em> Frisk c-can you go g-get the record? Th-the secretary went home an<em> hour ago."</em></p><p><em>"Yeah, I'll be right </em>back." There was a sound of shuffling and a door shutting.</p><p>Micah managed a low, dry-throated groan, struggling to open her eyes under light that was too bright, in a room that was too small.</p><p>"Omigoshthankthestarsyou'realright, I was so scared," Alphys hid her face in clawed hands, glasses pushed up as she did her level best to calm down.</p><p>"Whuh--? What happened? Is the test over?" She sat up, nausea and vertigo nearly overwhelming her.</p><p>Alphys fixed her glasses, taking a slow breath, "Sorry, I...s-something went wrong, and one second you were in the chair, and then you disappeared f-for <em>hours,</em> and s-suddenly you were on the floor by the o-observation window, and your HP was dropping, and you...how d-do you feel? C-c-can you stand? Please don't be a-angry, this wasn't s-supposed to happen. Do you r-remember anything?"</p><p>Micah frowned, brows knitting together. She reached out an unsteady hand to place on the shoulder of the short lizard monster kneeling next to her, attempting to be reassuring, "Um...it's hard to...think... Frisk and I were talking and then... It got...dark. Really,<em> really</em> dark, and then...there was a door, and...someone?" Her head hurt, "Or maybe I was alone? I don't...I don't really remember. It's like...trying to hold onto juice with a fork, but the fork is stabbing into my brain, and the juice is actually a really potent acid."</p><p>An unreadable expression crossed the doctor's face. She carefully stood, offering a hand up for Micah, "C-can you describe the door?"</p><p>"It was just...a door. It was...heavy and grey, and one of the only things I could see...when I tried to open it, it was like...something...someone," another sharp pain spiked through her head, "It shut again. It was really...familiar. Like...I feel like I've seen it before." She stood, a little unsteady.</p><p>"W-would it be...um...alright if I k-kept you overnight for o-observation?"</p><p>She shook her head, "I'd be fine with it, but...the shelter has a curfew. If I'm late, or don't show up, and I haven't warned them, they might give my bed out to someone else."</p><p>The monster frowned, "A-are there th-that many homeless humans?"</p><p>"Unfortunately. It was...kind of a big problem even before monsters showed up on the surface. Now with the new zoning and stuff, it's getting a bit harder to get out of it--oh, not that it's y'all's fault or anything. I mean some people might see it that way, but there was always more supply than what they were willing to hand out. When you guys showed up, you built your own houses. That hasn't taken anything away from humans at all," getting away from the topic of that dark place<strike> and the stranger,</strike> made the headache fade, along with much of the dizziness which he been holding her unsteady, "Hey, look. I'm uhh. I'm still up for this. I just need to get back before they close the shelter doors for the night. Do you have the time?"</p><p>Alphys checked her phone, biting her lip, "N-nearly eight?"</p><p>"PM? Shit, I need to go," Micah moved purposefully toward the exit, the sudden movement causing another churn of nausea that she now recognised as hunger, as her pulse began to pick up, "I'm sorry, I just...if I don't catch the next bus, I won't make it in time."</p><p>"W-wait, hold on! I c-can get you a ride b-back," she moved up, gently taking the human's arm, "You w-were out for awhile, and i-it's not safe to s-send you back on your own."</p><p>"Look, I appreciate it, but I really can't put you out like that. Besides, I'm not allowed to tell anyone the exact address, or area. I just--"</p><p>"Wh-what if I wrote you a n-note? Or I c-can give them a call on your b-behalf. I'm...I'm technically your employer, s-so they have to work with you, right?"</p><p>"Maybe?"</p><p>"A-alright! Then I'll...I'll give them a call, and you can um...j-just go ahead and get dressed in the e-exam room. I'll m-meet you in the lobby."</p><p>"I...wait, what are you telling them?"</p><p>"Th-that you j-just started a new job and um...I need y-you to work overnight," she looked a little proud of herself, "I'll even p-pay you."</p><p>"Doctor that's not necessary, really--"</p><p>"N-no, it's only fair. I have the b-budget, and I-I'll be taking readings while y-you sleep, so...y-you'll still be working."</p><p>She hesitated, "I really don't want to get in trouble, or...get you into trouble."</p><p>"I-i-it's no trouble. And it's just one night. It'll be fine!"</p><p>Micah chewed a bit of dry skin on her lower lip, "I guess...it's fine. I'll give you the number when I get to my phone."</p><p>"O-oh, I should t-text Frisk, and let them know you're awake!" Her claws tapped rapidly on the keyboard as she led the way to the exam rooms.</p><p>She lapsed into silence as she walked, willing away the hunger, and dizziness, internally practising her excuses for the shelter staff, come tomorrow. Anxiety gripped her, despite her best efforts to push it down.</p><p>It would be fine. Everything was fine.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Who was the strange human who had arrived here? [REDACTED] knew no one like her, knew <em>of</em> no one like her. His experience with humans had been limited, even when he had been real, and now this woman was appearing, and once again pulling at his awareness of a timeline he wasn't even sure he had ever been a part of. And strangest of all...she seemed to, at least slightly, remember him.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>How far could he push this? Could he make her remember him? Really, <em>truly, </em>completely remember him? If he could be remembered, could he be real again? Was there even enough of himself left to justify hoping for such a thing?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>There was enough to be aware. A weaker mind would have been lost entirely.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>He could still feel the thrum of energy, the gentle movement of atoms that made her solid under his hand, as he phased and flickered in and out of her awareness.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>If there was a chance...he couldn't afford for her to open the door yet. Not before she was ready. He couldn't afford to lose his chance to connect to the world he'd lost and been lost from again.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>How ironic that a human might be his only salvation from this self imposed trap...and after all he had done to them, in the name of science.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Other voices, other splinters, other selves reacted in various ways. For a moment, nothing was true, and everything was nonsense. He hadn't done any of that had he? His influence had almost entirely disappeared from the world, apart from his two sons, so why feel bad for something that made itself disappear? Every day the monsters were free was another day he became less relevant. A product of a time that would one day be entirely forgotten.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>But that human...Micah. She remembered him. To her, he was someone--a stranger, but <em>someone,</em> even if she was unsure. He could hold onto that.</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Second Question</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>The grey door is forbidden.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But what will happen if I open it?</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>I almost managed. <span class="value_inner times">██</span> stopped me. I don't know who <span class="value_inner times">██ is, but somehow, it hurts to remember </span></em> <em> <span class="value_inner times">███. Skeletal hands, wrapped around mine. Even that small detail is like nail files against bone, filling my head with itching, picking, cringing anxiety. An entirely unnatural reaction to something so sma</span> </em> <em> <span class="value_inner times">ll, and to a gesture which seemed </span> </em> <span class="value_inner times">almost</span> <em> <span class="value_inner times">...tender, if overcautious, and slightly distant.<br/></span> </em></p><p>
  <em> <span class="value_inner times">But maybe I'm ascribing meaning to things that don't matter.</span> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <span class="value_inner times">That door though, which looks so out of place no matter its surroundings...I keep seeing it, and I would like very much to know what awaits me on the other side.</span> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <span class="value_inner times">The dream dissolves as soon as I reach the conclusion, obstructed by the fog of incoming consciousness.</span> </em>
</p><hr/><p>The scent of coffee and fast-food breakfast was the first thing that penetrated the dense blanket of sleep, as Micah listened to the sound of whispered conversation around her. Her stomach churned with hunger in reaction, but she internally chided herself for thinking any of it was for her. After all, it wasn't as if her roommates were the type to sh...wait. No, she didn't have roommates anymore. She was supposed to be in a homeless shelter, so why was she so damn comfortable?</p><p>She kept her eyes shut, not wanting the rude, if routine realization to break the brief moment of feeling comfortable and safe for the first time in over a year.</p><p>The conversation continued on in the background.</p><p>"Is she gonna sleep all day? Food's getting cold..."</p><p>"Y-yes, but Undyne, you saw her file, and last night might've been r-really stressful for her. Sh-she could use the rest."</p><p>Right. She had more or less been roped into sleeping on Alphys' couch for the night, after the doctor had promised to pay her for her time, and notify the shelter that she was working for the evening.</p><p>"I'm up," Micah called in the general direction of the two voices, forcing her eyes open, and groping for her phone on the nearby coffee table to check the time.</p><p>The living room was decorated with a wide variety of weapons, anime posters, figurines, and even a full suit of armor near the entryway, currently being used as a coat-rack. Diffuse light filtered through an opaque, white skylight, and light curtains covered most of the windows. The sofa that she lay on was large, plush, and made with comfort in mind before aesthetics. The blanket she used appeared handmade, and the pillow was clean, and almost like new.</p><p>It was difficult at first to read the time, mostly because her eyes refused to see it. Had she really slept past noon? She hadn't done that in a year!</p><p>She sat up quickly, "Crap, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sleep in so late," she looked around for her things to try and gather them up, moving to stand on slightly unsteady feet, "And you guys are trying to eat breakfast...or lunch even, and...geeze, I'll um. I'll get out of your way. I'll see you at the lab, Doctor Alph--"</p><p>A tall, slightly intimidating fish-monster woman stood from the nearby dining room table, "Sit down," she said with a tone that was somehow both threatening and polite, grinning a too-large smile with teeth that were angular and sharp, and gesturing to one of the chairs, where an empty coffee cup and an unmarked back of fast food sat waiting, "You're worse than Alphys the first time she stayed at my house. You need to <em>chill.</em>" A firm hand guided her to shuffle around the couch and to the dining room.</p><p>"Undyne! D-don't intimidate the human! O-o-or talk about <em>th-that!</em>" The lizard monster blushed noticeably, "I-I'm sorry about Undyne, Micah. Sh-she's my g-g-g-girlfriend. When she heard I had a n-new participant over f-for the night, sh-she insisted on learning e-everything," she shot a look at the one-eyed woman, "S-so she read some of your f-file when I dozed off."</p><p>Micah's expression went rigid, "Um...that's not going to become a habit, is it?"</p><p>"N-n-no! I swear, Undyne a-actually assists m-me in some of my w-work, just um. Usually n-not the parts dealing with p-p-people. B-but I promise, we take c-confidentiality v-very seriously, and--"</p><p>"Relax, human, I'm not gonna spill your secrets. I just wanted to see if you had any allergies before I picked up breakfast," Undyne moved into the kitchen to get coffee for Micah once she seemed sure that she would remain seated.</p><p>"I see," she sat with her hands in her lap for a moment, "So...this is for me?"</p><p>"No, it's for the suit of armor--of course it's for you!"</p><p>She reached for the bag, slowly at first, though it still felt too eagre, unrolling it and pulling out the cooling food, carefully arranging it on the table as Undyne filled her cup with hot coffee.</p><p>Even cold, the food was more than she could have hoped for. She scarfed it down without really tasting it, washing it down with plain coffee, and licking her fingers clean of grease and salt before wiping them on a napkin.</p><p>"So how'd you end up homeless?"</p><p>"Undyne, you c-can't just ask that!"</p><p>Micah stopped midway through wiping her mouth, tucking a bright red strand of hair back out of her face, "Oh. Um...no, it's...okay," she shook her head, setting the napkin on the table, "Things didn't quite work out with some old roommates, so...I left. Went to a hotel. And then I lost my job, and I ran out of money, and got lucky enough to get into a shelter. There isn't much more to it than that. Honestly, it can happen to anyone." She shrugged.</p><p>"What kind of help do they give you there?"</p><p>"They're pretty underfunded, and there isn't a lot of space, so not much. Honestly, they're as likely to toss you out for not doing chores as they are to give you a blanket."</p><p>Undyne frowned, "How many people they got in there?"</p><p>"Maybe two-hundred or so? No monsters though," she shook shrugged, "And only about...six staff members, at any given time."</p><p>Her eye widened, "I was expecting you to say like...a dozen or something. But that's...a lot."</p><p>"That's not to say I'm expecting anything, by the way," Micah added quickly, suddenly conscious of complaining, "They got me off the street when no one else would or could. I didn't have a chance to really suffer, so it's not like...that big a deal, or anything!"</p><p>"No offense, but...fact you ended up in this situation to begin with? Kinda fucked," Undyne sipped her own drink, "Humans are dicks even to their own kind. Blows my mind. If you can't rely on your own people, then who can you rely on?"</p><p>"Hey, it's not like that," Micah started.</p><p>"You're too close to the situation," the fish woman crossed her arms on the table, "Your file says you've been homeless longer than monsters have been on the surface. We got homes and infrastructure within a week of being here, and we don't have nearly the resources humans have. How is it you have people who are still allowed to go without basics?" She shook her head, eye closing, "Just doesn't seem like justice to me."</p><p>Micah couldn't really bring herself to reply. Of course she agreed, but it was strange to hear it from someone else.</p><p>Undyne stood, "I'm going on a walk," she said, going around the table to give Alphys a toothy peck on the cheek, before slipping on a pair of boots by the front door and stepping outside.</p><p>"S-sorry about that," the lizard monster finally said, "She g-gets kind of...r-riled up about j-j-justice a-and doing the right thing and..." she blushed, "Stars, she's h-hot when she gets like that though!" She covered her involuntary grin with a clawed hand.</p><p>The redhead offered a small smile, "You guys are cute together," she replied, still sitting, and giving a slightly nervous glance toward the door, still hesitant to get up, in case her over-enthusiastic host returned early from her walk and insisted on more aggressive hospitality.</p><p>Alphys covered her face for a moment, going red, "Th-thank you," she managed, when she finally dropped her hands, "I-it took a long time for us t-to get together b-but it was worth it," she was still smiling, "A-anyway, enough about th-the past. Or at least that far past. I um. I wanted to ask more about y-yesterday, if you're f-feeling up for it."</p><p>"Oh. Of course, sure."</p><p>"E-excellent. I-if you want to sit on the c-couch while we talk it's m-more comfortable for sitting at least...b-by the way, I hope you weren't t-too cramped sleeping there. We only h-have the one bed," she stood, gesturing for Micah to go on ahead.</p><p>"Oh. Thanks. Yeah, it's uh. It really is comfortable. Best sleep I've had in awhile, actually. Thank you again."</p><p>"Oh, good, I was worried about that," she said quickly, sitting down in her own spot, "This c-couch is old, but it g-gets the job done."</p><p>Micah sat in her own spot, shifting in jeans she had slept in, and slumping back, "It's wonderful," she said, waving a hand, "Anyway, what about yesterday?"</p><p>"Right! W-well first of all, s-since your HP has stabilised, and you s-seem to be doing b-better, I was hoping y-you could tell me more about the p-person you said you saw?"</p><p>The moment she opened her mouth to speak, nausea swept over her in a flood, along with a dull pain behind her eyes, and a threat of darkness at the edges of her vision, making it hard to think back to that part of her little trans-dimensional vacation. She closed her mouth, shaking her head quickly, "I...I can't think of any details," she said too quickly.</p><p>"A-anything you can t-tell me will be of value."</p><p>She clenched her jaw against a wave of dizziness, closing her eyes, and feeling an odd sense of vertigo, "Bones. Hands looked like...bone. Felt like something else." She shook her head, holding it between both hands.</p><p>Alphys quickly wrote something down with a furious scritching of her pen, "Okay," she said after a moment, "B-backing off of that, what can you t-tell me about the grey door y-you mentioned?"</p><p>The pain and nausea faded slightly, "It was heavy."</p><p>"D-did you open it?" She sounded almost alarmed.</p><p>"I started to. Couldn't." She hoped her meaning would be clear without having to subject herself to more pain, which seemed to come flooding back every time she thought too hard about talking about the man from her odd trip.</p><p>"Wh--? Ohhhhh," she wrote something else down.</p><p>"I've seen it before."</p><p>The furious scritching stopped, "S-seen it?"</p><p>"The door. In dreams. Doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere, but it's there. In my head."</p><p>"A-and the other...h-have you seen th-them too?" Alphys asked, phrasing the question carefully.</p><p>"No." <em>Yes, but </em>where?</p><p>"I-I see..."</p><p>She asked a few more questions. Basics. Took a few vitals, checked her soul. Everything seemed normal, if a little weaker than a human should be, though that was understandable given circumstances.</p><p>Eventually, with much insistence, Alphys drove Micah to bus stop near the shelter, purchasing a month transit pass for her, and handing her a paycheque for her first day and night of work, promising a more regular, weekly pay period starting the following week.</p><p>Micah, in return, pretended not to notice when the monster followed her the last couple blocks to the shelter, figuring she just wanted to make sure she arrived safely. Or at least that was her assumption, until, several hours later, a large group of monsters, most of whom she didn't recognise, came in, escorted by staff, with several boxes of donations.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Second Question - 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Micah counted the monsters as they came in, setting boxes down, as some came into the small kitchen meant to serve all the shelter residents, ingredients spread about. Undyne was one of them (though Alphys wasn't here, at least not inside), a pair of skeletons, the shorter of whom seemed to be carrying the same empty box back and forth, a greenish fire monster (whom the shelter attendants were giving cautious looks), and a bunny-like monster, with a smaller child who looked a lot like her clutching at her skirt.</p><p>They moved in and out, dropping boxes of clothing, and food for the kitchen area, and even some pamphlets for monster-owned housing options that shelter residents might be able to consider. The whole thing drew in quite a crowd.</p><p>Of course, donations happened. People were never inherently bad, they were just inherently cautious, sometimes to the detriment of others. Most of the donations that came in were things people didn't want, or couldn't use. Nobody wanted to <em>look </em>homeless. Most of this stuff actually seemed...nice. And there was enough for everyone, and then some, by the looks of things.</p><p>She shook her head, a little awed by the whole spectacle, even as some of the more closed minded residents muttered some lees than kind things back and forth about the monster donors. She tried to make her way over to Undyne, leaning on the counter between the allowed area and the kitchen, "Hey! What's all this about, huh?"</p><p>The fish monster turned, offering a wide grin that caused a couple stares, "Hey'ya, punk! What'd you think we were just gonna let a bunch of people suffer?" She asked, "Nah. I went and talked to the King, and he agreed to fund some donations." Her volume was almost enough to be heard over the rest of the crowd in the small room.</p><p>One of the staff members glanced up.</p><p>Micah flinched, almost hyper-aware of the authority's attention, "Oh. W-wow, you uh...you got the monster King in on this?" Her voice was lower now, as if to urge Undyne to be a little quieter.</p><p>"Yeah! Asgore was as surprised as I was that you guys treat other humans like this, after I told him what you told me and Alphys," she moved a box of monster food to the other side of the kitchen, practically shouting over her shoulder.</p><p>The human jumped when the observing staff member placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, "S'cuse me, Mikey, can I have a word with you in the office for a sec?"</p><p>Anxiety flooded through her, with a wave a nausea, dizziness and blood pounding in her ears, "I...sorry, did I do something wrong?" She asked slowly.</p><p>"We just need to have a quick conversation."</p><p>"R-right. Hey, Undyne, uh...thanks and all that," Micah went unwillingly with the staff member to the office.</p><p>The door shutting behind them cut off the noise and bustle of the rest of the building. The staff member...Tanya? Tammy? Something with a "T," sat down at one of the desks, typing something into her computer, "Can I get your bed number, Mikey?"</p><p>"Um...189."</p><p>"Alright, here we are. So we've got a couple things to talk about here," she gestured for Micah to sit, "First, it looks like you're behind on your chore points for the week. You've only got 6, and since you only just started your job, you're gonna need at least another 21 to keep your bed after this week. Also, I need your new employer to fill out this form and send it back with you by bed check tomorrow."</p><p>She relaxed slightly in the less comfortable metal framed chair on her side of the desk, "I'll do the house laundry, and clean the dishes tonight after bedcheck, if that's all it is. How many chore points will that get me?"</p><p>"Manny did the laundry earlier, and Jo-ann signed up to do the next round of dishes. You can sweep."</p><p>"Wait, but that's only one point," she protested, "How am I supposed to do that 21 times in two days, when I have to work?"</p><p>"That's not my problem. I'm sure you can explain it to your employer."</p><p>"Can I have an extension?"</p><p>"That would be unfair to the other residents. If you absolutely need it, then you'll have to take it up with the shelter owner, but I don't think you're going to get very far."</p><p>She restrained her panic as best as she could, suddenly trying to think of any chore that wouldn't be on the normal list. Maybe she could figure out how to fix the vacuum? Or trade someone else for chore points?</p><p>"While I've got you in here, there's also something else we need to talk about."</p><p>"Ugh, okay, what now?"</p><p>T narrowed her eyes, "If you're gonna have an attitude, you can take a walk."</p><p>"No, no no no, I'm sorry. I just...it's nothing, sorry." She bit the tip of her tongue to keep herself from speaking out of turn.</p><p>"Right. So, I heard you talking to one of the...donors that came in. I'm reminding you that you signed an agreement when you moved in that you wouldn't provide any information about the shelter to those not living here, under penalty of your participation in the program," she turned the screen, "Please take this as your first warning. One more warning, and you will lose your bed, and go back to the end of the waiting list. Failure to comply again will disqualify you from the program entirely. Do you understand?"</p><p>Micah paled, "Wh--b-but I didn't--"</p><p>"I'm not deaf, Mikey. Your fish freak friend was shouting over the whole damn room. Do you acknowledge that you've been given this warning or not?"</p><p>She froze, unable to move as a flood of conflicting impulses filled her internal queue. She wanted to confront the clear rudeness from someone who had authority, but that very authority was enough to stop her from acting.</p><p>The staff member opened her mouth to repeat the question.</p><p>"Yes," Micah's voice was small. She stood, but didn't move toward the door, waiting to be excused.</p><p>"Sign here."</p><p>She did so automatically, adding her bed number when told, and finally walking out the office door when allowed to leave, noticeably deflated. It wasn't an unusual sight. Most who went in there came out either depressed or yelling.</p><p>The monsters had finished bringing everything in, in the meantime, and a few of them had gathered in the kitchen to cook dinner for the residents for the night.</p><p>Micah was...suddenly not very hungry. She had every urge to just head to her thin, brightly lit bed in the singles pod, and stare at the painted bricks and concrete, but she ran on autopilot, heading to the front desk to beg to be allowed to do some chore, even as others cleaned frantically around her, trying to get their last couple points for the week.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As much as I want this to be a sweet, warm, happy-filled moment of charity, people will always be people, and they have a tendency to treat the homeless as less than people. And when you're getting treated like that, and used to treating others like that...well, an open mind isn't easy to keep. Plus, the plot has to advance somehow.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Second Question - 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Micah finally made it to bed, she was aching, tired and exhausted all the way to her SOUL itself. She had only just managed to convince the staff that cleaning up litter around outside the shelter counted for points, so long as she showed them the bags, and though it hadn't gotten her everything she needed, it was a start.</p><p>The monsters had made several heaping portions of food. In spite of some people being rude toward the monsters, most managed to stay polite while the teenage fire monster, Fuku, and rabbit monster kid, Bun, were around at least. And everyone appreciated a big meal, even if the spaghetti was a bit...crunchy.</p><p>It was overall a very active, very chaotic night at the shelter, though the week's end often enough was.</p><p>As Micah lay in her bunk, staff members swept through the half-lit room with an inordinately bright flashlight, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. Bickering drifted from other bunks, along with complaints of various types, and the occasional whispered argument drifting through the half wall separating the cramped singles area from the couples pod.</p><p>Stars, she was <em>so </em>tired. She would be woken up when they reached her bed to make sure she was in it, but just...a few minutes of resting her eyes until they arrived couldn't....hurt.....</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Darkness pressed in around her before she was even aware of falling asleep. Or maybe this was something other than sleep.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her SOUL felt dim, and heavy. The Void pressed in around her, filling her lungs like invisible liquid, soaking into her skin as she felt herself sinking down, down, down, deeper and deeper into the dark. It was soothing in its way. Terrifying in precisely the same way. But she was too tired and too overwhelmed to care.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strike>He</strike> found her more quickly than before, seeming just that tiniest bit more solid, as more hands than she could count in her dazed state stopped her from sinking even deeper into the Void.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Skeletal fingers gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. All at once, she was slammed with the feeling of desperation and curiosity and loneliness, making what breath she had in this nothing catch in her throat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her mouth hung open for a moment, she could barely see, but for the dim glow of her SOUL, casting <strike>his</strike> strange features in a pale lilac, "Who are <strike>you?</strike>"She was surprised her voice didn't come out drowned in static. Or maybe it did, and she was just getting used to the background noise of this place.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strike>He</strike> paused, studying her a long moment. When <strike>he</strike> finally spoke, <strike>his</strike> enunciation was careful, but distorted, as if <strike>his</strike> words were formed from several different recordings of different grammar teachers, all layered haphazardly over one another, "<strong>I am Dr.̴̺̒ Ẅ̶̦́Ḓ̶͋ Gâ̵͖s̵͔̈́t̵̠̄ȇ̵̼ŕ̷̢,</strong>" he frowned slightly, clearly unsatisfied with <strike>his</strike> attempt at communication.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Perseverant human mouthed it, as if trying to commit the name to memory, "My name is Micah," she said, reaching up to touch one of the large cracks in <strike>his</strike> skull.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The light from her soul seemed to be getting brighter and brighter, pale purple giving way to near-white, before either of them could say anything more. She looked down, toward the centre of her chest, frowning a moment before--</em>
</p><hr/><p>"Bed check! Mikey, you in there?" The staff member shone the flashlight directly into her eyes, not bothering to lean down to actually look into the lower bunk, chasing away the finer details.</p><p>"Nngh...yeah, yeah, I'm here," her throat was dry, voice slightly hoarse, though she'd presumably only drifted off for a few minutes.</p><p>"Kay. Remember, you need 18 more chore points by tomorrow, with what you earned tonight."</p><p>"Mmm." Her head hurt now.</p><p>The staff member moved on to the next bunk.</p><p>The redhead flung an arm over her eyes. Tired as she was, it took the better part of the ensuing hour for her to realise that sleep wasn't coming back for her.</p><p>She stood, slipping on a pair of flip-flops, and heading out of the pods, into the area where those who usually worked nights, and the still awake drug addicts, were milling about the recently cleaned tables. One person was dozing in a wheelchair, finding it more comfortable than the prison mattresses they were given. An older resident had put on a DVD of some crime-scene show, and was mouthing along with the script, while rolling cigarettes. A couple of old ladies had an impromptu crafting circle at one of the tables, making a stack of "homeless, anything helps" signs to pass out to the other residents in the morning.</p><p>Micah shook her head, stepping through the back door, into the enclosed yard where the smokers went after curfew. A cold breeze blew in off the mountains, the moon obscured by an incoming storm. It smelled of rain, and dusty roads, and traffic. The city was muted, through the thick layers of trees that lined every street.</p><p>"What was that name?" Her head hurt a little more, but she did her best to focus past the pain, "Doc...Dr. something..." She leaned on the concrete wall, closing her eyes trying to remember what it felt like to mouth the name, the shape of it on her lips, "Dr. WD...Aster...Gaster?"</p><p>The city went impossibly quiet. When she opened her eyes again, she was alone. Or at least, more alone than she had been.</p><p>The windows that looked into the shelter from the back yard were gone, the trees were duller, the breeze had stilled, and the air felt heavy. One single figure, a monster by the looks of it, sat in the lower area, at a splintered and weather-warped table, a heavy shadow cast across them by the cloud-filtered moonlight above.</p><p>She stared a moment, looking around. She felt suddenly trapped. It took a mighty effort to step away from the wall and make her way down the ramp toward the figure. Somehow it felt wrong to shout down from the top of it, now that everything felt wrong. Were she less tired, she might well have freaked out.</p><p>Still. She didn't take her eyes off of the stranger who most certainly had not been there before. She came to the bottom of the ramp, walking across weed-grown asphalt, blocked on one side by the neighbouring building's brick side wall, and the other by the wire fencing. Her ears strained to hear anything, even as she sat, quiet as she could, in the shadow of the table's broken sun-shade.</p><p><em>"So you are looking for Doctor Gaster? He has not told you of his disaster," </em>they toyed with something in their hands, <em>"He was spread across the Void. An event which left him quite annoyed."</em></p><p>"Spread across the Void?" Micah frowned, "But who is he? And what does he have to do with that door I've been dreaming about?"</p><p>They seemed to smile in the darkness, <em>"Ah, you know of the grey door. The good doctor could tell you more. But though the call of knowledge may be heady, you must be sure that you are ready."<br/></em></p><p>"Ready? Ready for what? What does that even mean?"</p><p>The hesitated, <em>"The door is something of a rift...for now, please, just...take this gift," </em>a cold hand closed around hers, pressing something into her palm, and closing her fingers around it.</p><p>"What is it?"</p><p>
  <em>"It will let you speak his name, though you won't ever be the same."</em>
</p><p>"I...didn't I say his name before?"</p><p><em>"Not to give such firm rebuke, but that was more or less a fluke," </em>they shrugged, taking their hands back to themself, <em>"You'd forget him, very shortly. It would have been most un -courtly."</em></p><p>"Why do you keep speaking in rhyme?"</p><p><em>"Though it makes my words seem hollower, it's my nature as his follower. The other grey ones have their quirks, but this is how, for me, it works," </em>they hesitated, <em>"Identity is hard to keep, when the Void Sings calm and deep."</em></p><p>"So...you're...Dr. Gaster's follower. And he has others. And...speaking in rhyme helps you keep your sense of self?"</p><p>
  <em>"Something like what you have said. You're quite adept, using your head."</em>
</p><p>"Well...I have to be good at something," she looked down at her closed hand, opening her fingers to look at the object that had been pressed into her palm. It was a key, heavy, and old, with a slight tarnish in the grooves and curves. Closer inspection, turning so that moonlight could illuminate it, showed a skeletal motif, causing a small smile at the pun on skeleton key.</p><p>She looked up to ask about it, but she was alone. All that was left was a grey door, at the top of the ramp, in the painted brick wall of the shelter.</p>
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